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BBC Radio 4
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Reactive features from Radio 4, exploring what's really happening behind the headlines and unearthing untold stories, both at home and abroad.

  1. 2d ago

    The Dictators' Survival Guide

    Xi Jinping is known to be a ruthless leader. In the last five years alone, China’s richest man, Jack Ma, China’s defence minister and the country’s foreign minister have all abruptly disappeared - some never to be seen in public again. Millions of Communist officials have been purged since Xi came to power. But one man was thought to be untouchable: the head of China’s military forces, Zhang Youxia. A childhood friend of Xi’s, Zhang was allowed to stay in his post, even as other military officials were disappearing. That is — until he, too, was suddenly gone. Almost a year after he was last seen in public, and with 'strong man' politics on the increase, Celia Hatton investigates why Zhang was purged and looks inside and outside China for answers. She discovers there's a kind of pattern that dictators and autocratic rulers use to hold on to power. And this, she argues, can be a useful tool in predicting global military aggression. Presenter: Celia Hatton Producer: Adele Armstrong Production coordinator: Katie Morrison Editor: Penny Murphy.

  2. Aug 23

    The WhatsApp Underground

    In June 2026, racist violence erupted across Northern Ireland. Masked groups circulated lists of homes where people of colour were believed to be living, forcing more than a hundred people to flee. As houses burned around her, Maria barricaded herself inside with her two teenage daughters, filling buckets, mugs and the bath with water in case their home was attacked. Then across Belfast, other networks formed. When community workers, like Clare and Ciara, recognised the addresses of food bank users on the target lists, they got into their cars and began moving families to safety. It was organised via an improvised WhatsApp group, which brought together drivers, spare rooms, food and emergency support. For Ciara, the rescue carried a painful echo - she found herself driving along the same street where her own family had been burned out during the Troubles decades earlier. Tara Mills tells the story of the ordinary people who mobilised against the violence using WhatsApp groups and hears from the communities still living with its consequences. A Walk On Air Films production for BBC Radio 4

  3. Aug 16

    Pride Before the Fall

    Across the country love for Pride events is waning. Councils are pulling funding saying that cash is better spent on potholes and emptying the bins and big companies, once eager to be associated with the Pride are withdrawing their support - and money. Last year the company that ran Manchester Pride went out of business owing millions of pounds, the bars of the city's world famous gay village on Canal Street are funding a a new grass roots celebration. Across the country Prides are smaller, less corporate and in some cases just cancelled altogether Darren Milby asks why it is that our allyship with LBTBQ+ rights seems to be weaker and investigates what the trans debate has got to do with it? Producer and Presenter: Darren Milby Technical Producer: Nat Stokes Executive Producer: Richard McIlroy

  4. Jul 13

    Decency Politics

    As a journalist, historian, constitutional scholar and member of the House of Lords, Peter Hennessy has been observing British public and political life for more than 50 years. But now he's retiring from the House of Lords, and as he does he's struck by the rancour that is corroding our politics. What, he has been asking himself, can we do to restore decency to the heart of political conversation? In this programme Peter has been putting that question to people who have thought about decency and how we might encourage it. And he's invited them to do it at his house over a cup of tea. From former Prime Minister John Major to Whitehall Fixer Louise Casey, Reform MP Danny Kruger to National Education Union leader Daniel Kebede, the doorbell has rung with its jaunty tune and Peter has sat down to hear what has gone wrong, how a decency economy has emerged on YouTube, and how we might encourage what he calls a 'decency bias' in public life. Producer: Giles Edwards.

  5. Jun 15

    Lebanon's Abandoned Lives

    People who've had to abandon their homes because of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, explain what life is like in Lebanon, a country which has been repeatedly hit by war. A social worker describes how she thinks most Lebanese citizens now keep a bag of important belongings packed and ready to go by their front door in case they need to leave home at a moment's notice. A mother is close to tears talking about having to rearrange her daughter's fourth birthday party because of the imminent threat of missile strikes. Israel's military forces are currently occupying southern parts of Lebanon. They say they're there for the purposes of self-defence and to destroy Hezbollah's military capabilities. It's estimated a million people have had to move out of their homes as a result. It's not clear when or if those people will get to return or whether they will still have homes to go back to. Presenter: Carine Torbey Producers: Dany Abi Khalil & Nick Holland Sound: Rod Farquhar Production Coordinator: Janet Staples Editor Penny Murphy

  6. Jun 4

    England’s Identity Crisis

    England’s men's football team is once again preparing to shoulder the hopes of millions across the nation. A World Cup is traditionally a time to come together, but this tournament takes place in a tense political moment, when the question of who is – and isn’t - English is being contested. Should Englishness be linked to ancestry and ethnicity, to living in the country for generations, as some senior political figures claim? Is Englishness conditional? If so, on what? Should anyone living in England be able to claim national identity? Why is Englishness so hard to define? Newsnight's Political Editor Nick Watt reports from the frontlines of the battle for Englishness, speaking to senior figures in politics and cultural commentators. He visits Castle Point in Essex, the area where the most people chose English as their national identity in the 2021 census. He hears from the Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, Labour's Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy and the writer and GB News presenter Matt Goodwin. The interviews took place before Vickrum Digwa was jailed for the murder of Henry Nowak. Credit: The TRIGGERnometry podcast and YouTube show, produced and presented by Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster Producer: Leela Padmanabhan

  7. May 24

    When Shiraz Calls

    A personal account of day-to-day life in Iran told through the calls of two Iranian sisters – one in the UK, the other in the Iranian city of Shiraz. Since the outbreak of war at the end of February, a near total internet blackout and a shutdown of international phone lines by the Iranian authorities has meant limited information has got out of the country. Despite the risks involved, the sisters have made recordings of their conversations which have been shared with the BBC. They discuss when the bombs land, the destruction of places they love and the realities of an economy that’s being brought to its knees. They struggle to sleep at night. Salaries don’t come through. It’s a roller coaster of emotions. But there are also moments of calm and comfort…a spot of dark humour and the scent of hyacinths. Actors: Leila played by Lisa Zahra Gita played by Zahra Ahmadi Presenter: Caroline Hawley Producers: Adele Armstrong and Soroush Pakzad Sound design: Peregrine Andrews Editor: Clare Fordham

  8. May 23

    Under Fire in the Strait of Hormuz

    Sunil was 26 when he went to work on a ship for the first time. He travelled from Rajasthan, India to a port in Dubai for a job on an oil tanker. When he boarded the ship, he met Dalip, who was from a neighbouring village. They helped support each other when they felt homesick, working on a ship so far from home for the first time. But then a few weeks into their contract, Sunil heard a loud bang and felt the ship shake. He ran to the deck and saw oil spreading across the floor and smoke rising from the engine room. Someone told him an Iranian missile had hit their ship. As the oil spread, Sunil feared for his life and jumped into the ocean. He stayed calm until he realised Dalip wasn’t there... Kayleen Devlin tells the story of three men who were working on ships as the US-Israel war with Iran unfolded. Their stories reveal a system where workers can be recruited through unlawful practices, sent onto ships with little protection, and sometimes left to fend for themselves. Most seafarers come from India and are often offered wages far below international guidelines to work on the cargo ships and oil tankers that keep our day to day lives moving and our economies afloat. Presenter: Kayleen Devlin Producer: Phoebe Keane Translation: Kinjal Pandya Sound design: Neil Churchil Editor: Richard Vadon (Image: Smoke billows from the Sky Light. Credit: Sunil Puniya)

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Reactive features from Radio 4, exploring what's really happening behind the headlines and unearthing untold stories, both at home and abroad.

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  • Creator
    BBC Radio 4
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    56
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © (C) BBC 2026
  • Show Website
    Currently

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